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Ryan looking for 'common ground' on tax reform

House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan said on Sunday he still stands ready to compromise with President Barack Obama on tax reform if they can “find common ground.”

“We got to get this economy growing,” the Wisconsin Republican said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We have had such a stagnant economy, the slowest recovery since World War II. Middle income wages are stagnant. We’ve got to break out of this slog. And I do believe that there are things we can do hopefully in the next year to get this economy growing faster.”

“We want to work with this administration to see if we can find common ground on certain aspects of tax reform.,” he said. “And we want to exhaust that possibility.”

“If and when that possibility is exhausted, then we will put out what we think ought to be done,” Ryan added, addressing GOP tax strategy. “So, we fully intend on the Ways and Means Committee of showing what full, comprehensive tax reform for everybody, individuals and families alike, looks like.”

The tax increases the president advocates, Ryan said, are one large area where Republicans and Democrats disagree on how to proceed.

“We’ve got to get this economy growing,” Ryan said, citing the tax code as a means for creating economic growth.

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will testify before the Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday to discuss tax reform, Ryan said.